Phonograph stylus



May 1, 1923.

Y 1,453,637 "r. PARSONS PHONOGRAPH S TYLUS Filed April 5, 1920 l'atented may 1,1923.

THEOPHILUS PARSONS, F CAIdIP DODGE,

rrrouoenarn STYLUS.

Application filed. April 3, 1920. Serial No. 370,942;

To. all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEOPHILUS PARSONS, a citizen of the United States,:Camp Dodge, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented anew and useful Phonograph Stylus, of which the followingis aspecification.

This invention relates to a phonograph, and more particularly toimprovements in the sound reproducing elements thereof.

It is one object of my invention to avoid some well-known objectionsto-the usual construction by providing a freely rotatable recordengaging disc, preferably having a I thin edge adapted to be recelvedin'the usual This disc construction posrecord grooves. sesses numerousadvantages over. the needles commonly used, which advantages will befully indicated hereinafter.

vide an improved sound box and amplifier construction, by means of whichthe volume of sound is increased and the quality of tone is alsoimproved.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of partswhich will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

A preferred form of my invention I is shown in the drawings, in which IFig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a phonograph embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a. front elevation of the sound box and record engaging disc;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side disc; and

Fig. 4: is a longitudinal sectional elevation thereof, together with thesupport in which it is mounted. 1

Referring to the drawings, I have shown a portion of a phonographincluding a horn or other sound amplifier and distributor 12. connectedthrough a universal joint 14 and a connection 15, to 45 which adiaphragm 18 is mounted.

A diaphragm lever 19 of the usual type is mounted on pivots 20 on thesound box 16 and has its inner end secured to the diaphragm in the usualway.

W The outer end ofthe elevation of the residing at v in the oppositeAnother object of my invention is to pro-' a sound box 16,withindiaphragm lever 19 is provided with a socket 21, adapted to re iceive a pin or stud 22 extending upwardly I and rearwardly from apreferably U-shaped support 23. Pivot screws 2 1 and 25, threaded endsof the support 23, provide adjustable bearings for a freely rotate ablerecord engaging disc 26. is preferably formed of some hard material,such as steel or fibre andis also preferably provided with a concaveface on one side an a substantially convex face on'the opposite side.The discalso has a thin or knife-like edge which enables it to enterand'ffollowthe reCOId grooves in a phonograph-disc or cylinder.

l The stud 22 may be fast in the support 23 or may be loosely securedtherein,-per- The disc 26 if r mitting the supportto move angularlyabout I the stud as an axis. It will benoted 1s not positioned in thatthe pin or stud 22 the plane of the edge of the disc 26 but that it isplacedsubstantially l to one side thereof. With-this construction, thepivotal axis of the diaphragm lever-19 is also necessarilyat one side ofthe plane of the disc. This position of the discrelative to the axis ofthe lever is important,as the offset position enables me touse the'samereproducing mechanism with records in which the sound vibrations arerecorded either horizontally as in the Victor type of record, orvertically as in the Edison type of record. I By substituting a freely,rotatable disc in place of the usual needle, I greatly prolong the lifeof the records, as the disc rolls freely along th record groove insteadof being dragged over the surface thereof. Having thus described myinvention, it' will be evident that changes and modifications can bemade therein by those skilled-in,

the art within the spirit and'scope thereof as set forth in the claims,and I do not wish to be otherwise limited to the details hereindisclosed, but what I claim is V 1. Ina phonograph, element comprising a1 i a record-engaging freely rotatable disc concave on one-face andhaving a relatively thin sharp edge. I v 2. In a phonograph, arecord-engaging element comprising a freely rotatable disc ing arelatively thin, sharp edge and having formed of hard material, saiddisc having portions of one face only projecting beyond a relativelythin sharp edge and being conthe plane of the edge and adjacent thereto.10 cave on one face only adjacent the edge por- In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto 5 tion. 'affi'xed my signature.

3. In a phonograph, a record-engaging element comprising a freelyrotatable disc hav- THEOPHILUS PARSON

